How to improve large class teaching?: Tips and tool for better teaching

1. How to improve large class teaching?: Tips and tool for better teaching Hiroaki Sato Vice Director and Associate Professor, Office for Educational Planning and Research, Ehime University, Japan Japan Association for Educational Development in Higher Education

2. I am from Matsuyama, Ehime. Matsuyama Castle Dogo Hot Spa

3. It is your turn. Where are you from? Please introduce yourself to the neighbors. 1 - Name 2 - University 3 - Area of speciality

4. How are you? • I am very fine! • I want to go back home (Very bad). • Not too bad. 0 1 / 50

5. How long have you taught in higher education? 15 1. Less than 5 years 2. 6 years – 10 years 3. 11 years – 15 years 4. More than 16 years 0 / 50

6. Content • Characteristic of large classes • Tips for course design • Tips for conveying information clearly • Tips for not making classes anonymous • Tips for pair work/ group work • Tips for questions and answers • Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively

7. Learning Outcome After you finish this workshop, you will be able to get at least one tip among 31 tips for better large class teaching.

8. 1.Characteristic of large classes

9. When you say “large class”, does it mean how many students for you? • 50～99 • 100～149 • 150～199 • 200～299 • 299～ 15 0 / 50

10. 1. Characteristic of large classes Two perspectives on research for class size（Nakai, 2006） ① Class size effects on motivation of teachers and students. As a result, it affects educational effects. ② Class size does not effect on class-rooms control and outcomes. → No clear consensus on it.

11. 1. Characteristic of large classes Class-size research in North America （Yamazi, 2007） There is a negative correlation between numbers of students and evaluation points for group interaction and /or sense of trust. Less students classes are evaluated more highly. But numbers of students are over 100, the class is evaluated highly.

12. 1. Characteristic of large classes Class-size research in Japan（Nakai, 2006） ・ Large class-size affects negative impact for classes. ・ Big difference is seen in “Chance for questions and assertion” and “Promotion of learning outside classes” ・ Topics on educational effects such as “ Intellectual stimulation” and “ Total satisfaction” are highly evaluated in over 100 classes. ・ Students satisfy large class more than teachers.

13. 1. Characteristic of large classes Large class students is a crowd

14. 1. Characteristic of large classes Effectiveness of teaching & learning Small class ＞Large class The difference of Sense of community • Challenges and Questions • How to teach “large classes” like “small classes”? • How to change “crowd” to “community” in your classes?

15. 2. Tips for course design

16. 2. Tips for course design Tips 1. Design Structured Teaching Plan In large classes, it is hard for professors to catch the reaction of learners. It is hard for students to ask questions. It is not easy to change teaching plan flexibly. It is better to design structured teaching plan. Model of structured teaching plan Introduction/ 2-3 Main topics/ Summary

17. 2. Tips for course design Tips 2. Draw attention first Large class students are various in terms of interest, motivation and ability. Before starting to teach main topics, you need to draw attention first to explain the following things（Hashimoto and Suzuki, p.158）. 1 - Reason why you pick up the topics 2 - Evidence of how the topics are important and valuable 3 - Connection between the topics and learner’s merits

18. 2. Tips for course design • Tips 2. Draw attention first • AIDMA (Samuel Roland Hall) • Attention “What is this?” • Interest “It might be interesting.” • Desire“I want to know.” • Memory“I remember it.” • Action“I want to learn more about it.”

19. 3. Tips for conveying information clearly

20. 3. Tips for conveying information clearly “If I clap my hands together at Sarusawa-Pond, a maid came to me with a cup of tea, carps came towards me and doves began to fly.”

21. 3. Tips for conveying information clearly Tips 3. Speak with articulation and indicate clearly ・　The more audiences, the more misunderstanding ・　If you teach large classes, you need to think that there would be a lot of students who misunderstood what you taught. ・　When you teach important things, you can repeat, write, deliver in the paper and askthem whether they understand or not.

22. 3. Tips for conveying information clearly Tips 4. Conveying information strongly and largely ・ Voice： Use of microphone ・ Action：More body language with exaggerated gesture, Walk around classroom （Bear Walk） ・Writing：Big letter ・ Presentation：Use of audio visual aid (Over head camera, power point, youtube video…)

23. 3. Tips for conveying information clearly Tips for Power point in large classes（Ritsumeikan University, 2005, p.8） 1. Character-size, font and points 　・ 50 points. 　・　Gothic or Arial 　・　Bold face 　・　one sentence should be under 15 characters and under 5 lines 2. Color 　・　No bright background 　・　Bright characters and dark background

24. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous

25. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous What kind of problems do you have in teaching large classes? 1. Think about that by yourself at first.You can write memo about it. 2. Share about that with pair near you next.

26. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous In classroom where students are not treated as an individuals, they feel less responsibility for classmates or professors. Students who think they are anonymous tend to be lower motivated and do not work. Students who have sense of community tend to concentrate learning and more active in class（Davis, 2002, p.153）

27. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous As soon as possible, you need to make social relationship among professor⇔student⇔student

28. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous Tips 5.Indicate the location of desk to students Tips 6.Make students sit down forward and center in the class Tips 7.Call students’ name Tips 8.Arrive at classroom early and exit slowly (Students are easy to talk with you) Tips 9.Indicate student to submit homework to teacher directly

29. 4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous Tips 10.Walk around with the aisle Tips 11.Use Minute Paper and tell student’s voice and questions Tips 12.Talk about your private story Tips 13.Make students introduce themselves to the next (Ice break)

30. 5. Tips for pair work/ group work

31. 5. Tips for Pair work/ Group work Tips 14. Use “Think, Pair & Share” Think…Think / Write idea by myself Pair…Share with two people Share…Share with group or everyone Tips 15. Do not expect that all students do pair or group work

32. 6. Tips for questions and answers

33. 6. Tips for questions and answers ・ Questioning ＝ Making blank space in brain ・ Brain tend to fill the blank space ・ If you give students good questions, students’ brain start to work. ・ Question and answer timeis Showtime. It is chance to involve more students to learning.

34. 6. Tips for questions and answers Tips 16.Use “Open questions” and “Closed questions” Tips 17.Use “Non-Appointed questions” and “Appointed questions” Tips 18.Use “Relay questions” and “Return questions” Guess what each questions mean with pairs.

35. 6. Tips for questions and answers Tips19. Take enough time for waiting students’ answers Tips 20.Collect answers from all students Tips 21.Appoint student fairly and impartially Tips 22.Give positive feedback to answers Tips 23.Make all students to applause the students who answered questions (Sharing emotions)

36. Have you heard about the word “clicker”? 10 • Yes • No 0 / 50

37. Clicker Students push the button with wireless transmitters. Teachers catch them with receivers. http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-5819187-2.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

38. Easy clicker １．Communication Card ２．Number Card ３．Paper and Pen

39. 7. Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively

40. 7. Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively Tips24. Deliver the bundled materials in the first day（course packet） Tips25. Put the materials on line and tell students to print out them Tips26. Bring envelopes and tell students to put homework into them by ID numbers Tips27. Select leaders in each group in the first class and ask them to collect homework

41. 7. Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively Tips28. Set some deadlines for reports Tips29. Write assessment of evaluation or deadline of task in syllabus Tips30. Carry out mini-test in the beginning of classes or give homework. Tell students to check the result each other.（peer evaluation） Tips31.Assess the student by rubric assessment sheets

42. Rubric Assessment

43. Reflection time What did you learn from this workshop? You can write anything that you want to change in your teaching. • Sample • Putting pair work at least one time in my math classes. • Using microphone in my classes.

44. Learning Outcome After you finish this workshop, you will be able to get at least one tip among 31 tips for better large class teaching.

45. Thank you very much. sato.hiroaki.mk@ehime-u.ac.jp 45